Performance Audit Group Contract for Transport Scotland

The Performance Audit Group (PAG) provider will be expected to audit, monitor, review and provide advice on the following Transport Scotland contracts to ensure that contractual duties are being satisfied.

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

Performance Audit Group Contract.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Scotland.

NUTS code UKM

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

The Performance Audit Group (PAG) provider will be expected to audit, monitor, review and provide advice on the following Transport Scotland contracts to ensure that contractual duties are being satisfied.
1) All Operating Company contracts covering Scottish Trunk Road Network (South West Unit, North West Unit, South East Unit, North East Unit, Forth Bridges Unit)
2) M6, M80 and M8/M73/M74 DBFO contracts
3) Traffic Scotland Systems contract
Other supplier contracts may be added to this list during the contract period.
Further information on the scope of the services is included within the prequalification document which is available from the Scottish Ministers (See VI.3).

A parent company guarantee will be required from the parent company (or companies) of the Single Economic Operators or from the parent company of each member of a Group of Economic Operators and this requirement and the form of the parent company guarantee will be identified in the Competition Documentation.
Economic Operators will be required to accept any requirement to provide a bond and undertaking which is set out in the Contract. Such requirement shall be identified in the Competition Documentation and the form of the bond and undertaking shall be identified in the Conditions of Contract.

Payment will be on the basis of a Schedule of man day rates covering all roles required by the Contract. The Contract will provide a formula for payment of contract price fluctuations. Further details will be provided in the Competition Documentation.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

If the successful participant is a consortium, the Scottish Ministers shall require each consortium member to be jointly and severally liable pursuant to the Contract. The Scottish Ministers may require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into the Contract.

III.1.4)Other particular conditions

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: Further details will be provided in the Competition Documentation.

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Economic operators shall be evaluated in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012 on the basis of information provided in response to a prequalification questionnaire (‘PQQ’), copies of which are available on request from the Scottish Ministers (see VI.3).

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As in III.2.1.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Economic Operators shall be required to satisfy minimum standards of economic and financial standing. These are described in detail in the PQQ. The financial information received as part of each PQQ submission shall be evaluated and scored out of 40 against 4 weighted categories; financial structure; operating performance; investment; and financial position. Each category has a maximum of 10 marks available. A PQQ submission shall be marked as a FAIL and shall not be considered further if the weighted score is less than 50 percent in respect of any of the 4 evaluation categories.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
As in III.2.1.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
Economic operators shall be required to satisfy minimum standards of technical capacity or professional ability. These are described in detail in the PQQ and can be summarised as:
(a) demonstration of the use of quality, environmental and health and safety management systems (the requirements are set out in full in the PQQ); and
(b) in respect of the questions on demonstration of relevant experience in Section 5.2 of the PQQ, Economic Operators are required to score 50 percent or more of the available maximum weighted evaluation score for each question.

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

competitive dialogue

IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Envisaged number of operators: 4
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: The Scottish Ministers intend to invite 4 economic operators to participate in the tender process. These 4 economic operators shall be those economic operators who have:
(a) submitted a compliant PQQ submission;
(b) gained a PASS in respect of the eligibility and minimum standards of technical or professional ability evaluation conducted pursuant to section 6.5 of the prequalification prospectus;
(c) gained a PASS in respect of financial evaluation conducted pursuant to section 6.6 of the prequalification prospectus;
(d) scored 50 percent or more of the available maximum weighted evaluation score for each question in section 5.2 of the PQQ; and
(e) achieved the first, second, third or fourth highest weighted scores in respect of technical or professional ability calculated in accordance with the prequalification prospectus.
If an economic operator has not submitted a compliant PQQ submission as described in (a) above, failed in respect of either (b) or (c) above or has not scored 50 per cent or more of the available maximum weighted score for each question in section 5.2 of the PQQ, as described in (d) above, then that economic operator shall be excluded from the ranking of scores described in (e) above.

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated below

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

22.9.2015 – 12:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

24.11.2015

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

VI.3)Additional information

Contract duration is for a period of 6 years commencing in late 2016, with options to extend up to a maximum of a further 2 years at the sole discretion of the Scottish Ministers. The estimated annual contract value range is between 21 500 000 GBP and 28 000 000 GBP.
Transport Scotland will conduct the proposed procurement process for the Performance Audit Group Contract on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. In the event of the contract award, the Performance Audit Group Contract will be entered into between the Scottish Ministers and the successful tenderer.
Any economic operator wishing to participate in response to this notice can download the prequalification document, which consists of prospectus and prequalification questionnaire, from the Buyer Profile address given within section I.1. Alternatively, the prequalification document can be obtained from Transport Scotland at the address given in I.1 of this notice.
PQQ submissions should be delivered to Transport Scotland (address identified in annex A.III) by no later than 12:00 noon BST on 22.9.2015. The Scottish Ministers shall not evaluate any PQQ submissions received past the specified deadline, unless the delay is caused by a situation out with the control of the economic operator, the determination of which shall be at the sole discretion of the Scottish Ministers. Compliance with achieving the specified deadline is the sole responsibility of the economic operator (including obtaining evidence of receipt by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Ministers).
Economic operators which alter their composition after making a prequalification submission will be the subject of re-evaluation. The Scottish Ministers reserve the right not to award any Contract as a result of the procurement process initiated by this notice and to make whatever changes the Scottish Ministers deem appropriate to the content, process, timing and structure of the procurement process.
Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Ministers shall have no liability for any costs howsoever incurred by those participating in the procurement competition including prequalification and the competitive dialogue procedure (including the tendering process).
Economic operators should be aware that all information submitted to the Scottish Ministers may need to be disclosed or published by the Scottish Ministers in compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Information given in II.2.1 of this notice is preliminary.
The date and time referred to in IV.3.5 of this notice is provisional.
(SC Ref:396861).

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: An economic operator that suffers, or risks suffering, loss or damage attributable to a breach of duty under the Public Contract (Scotland) Regulations 2012 may bring proceedings in the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session.

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained